Sometimes I feel like an octopus being pulled eight different ways at the same time, so it’s easy to see how most of you feel as well. We all have only 24 hours in our day, and it seems time is moving so much faster than in the past. How well I remember my younger days in which I worked a full time job on the Missouri State Highway Patrol, a part time job at my own furniture repair business, and still had time to work on a race car almost every day. Plus, I rode my Harley every day almost, and went to the race track to work in the pit most every weekend. Between all that I worked on cars as favors to friends and family, sometimes taking in overhauls over the weekend, and getting it done in a day or two. Not to mention mowing the yard, taking care of the house, and our own cars. Oh yes, and working on and polishing my Harley. I don’t want to forget that. Looking back, I don’t know how I did so much in 24 hours, but that was the way it was.

But now, it seems we’re in a funnel, moving faster and faster toward the end of time. With time moving soooooo fast, it’s easy to squeeze God out of the picture. And I know that everyday tasks need to be done. People have to work, take care of their families, and their homes. The question is this; When is there time for GOD?

Most people are running around in such a hurry that the quality of their life is just terrible. They exist only to serve things that they just can’t live without. Or at least think they can’t live without. We want a nice home, for example. And there’s nothing wrong with that. But at what cost? Working two full-time jobs apiece? How about that new car? Well, the payments are only for seven years, I guess I can work a few extra hours a week for that. And the boat? Well, we gotta have a boat! There’s 10 more hours a week at work to pay for it. Now, the problem is, when do I have time to take my family out in the boat? And gas is so expensive, we can’t afford to go anywhere now. Besides, there’s no time for fun, I.O.I.O, it’s off to work I go.

Something’s missing here….did you see it? Where’s God’s time? ” OOPS! I didn’t mean to leave that out. Let’s see, where can I squeeze Him in? Um, there’s Thursday afternoon the 20th of next month. Yeah, that’s it. I’ll spend some time with God then…wait a minute, no, that’s already taken, gotta work. I’ll have to pick another time for God. Well, You know how it is, God, I’m busy! Besides, You don’t have to punch a time clock, like I do. You have all the time in the world. Besides, I know You’re patient and will wait until I have time.”OR WILL HE?
Would you treat your mate like that? Maybe some of you do. Maybe that’s why there’s no joy in your life, no purpose, no drive. Maybe that’s why there’s nothing to look forward to anymore, but getting up and going to work, until you die. You look at everything as a task that must be conquered. Problem is, the tasks never seem to go away. In fact, they’re like rabbits; they multiply faster than you can count them! Life is passing many of you by, and you don’t even know what to do about it. But there is something you can do.

First, determine that you want to make a change. Without that, nothing can be done. That’s first and foremost. Thomas Edison was tired of working by kerosene lanterns. He figured there was a better way. He wanted to make a change in his life, and his fellow man’s life. So he set out to find a way to invent the electric light. It wasn’t an easy task. If I remember right, he said he found about 960 ways NOT to make an electric light. Yet, he didn’t give up. I’m sure he faced many obstacles and challenges, and maybe sometimes felt like giving up. Probably even those closest to him said it was useless and couldn’t be done. But he didn’t give up. He diligently worked until he brought about the desired result.

What’s that have to do with YOU? Everything! If Thomas Edison could change his world, you can change yours! But you have to WANT TO! So many are willing to bawl and squall about their predicaments, but won’t do anything about it. Talk is cheap. Action takes effort. So, are you ready to start to begin to plan on wanting to think about making a change? That’s a start. We have something to work with. Not much, but something. We gotta work with what we got, right?
Second. Let’s make a plan. What is your desired result? More time with God? I hope so. More time with your family? Less time at work? Like I said, you need a plan. It’s not just going to happen on it’s own. If it was, it would have already done so. Take out a pencil and paper and write down your goal. Without a goal, folks, how will you know when you have reached it? You won’t. That’s why football fields have goal posts, so everyone will know when a point is scored. Write it down. You can do it. Don’t know what you really want? Let’s start simple. Do you know your name? Good. Write it down. Under your name, make a list of what you would like your life to look like. Make your goals realistic. You won’t be out of debt tomorrow. Maybe next week….. Let’s talk about REACHABLE goals. Like spending more time with God. After all, that’s what’s really important, more so than anything else that you have on your plate. So let’s start on that list. Like this:

JOHN SMITH
GOAL:
1. SPEND MORE TIME WITH GOD

OK, that’s good. Where do we go from there? Well, what has to change to make a hole in my schedule? Start with the “clutter”. It’s just like looking out in your garage at all the junk. You’d like a clean, organized garage. Know how to do that? The best way is to empty it out! Then put back in only what needs to be there, and get rid of the rest of it! Oh, but old habits die hard. The first thing we try to do is sweep out the cluttered garage, get it nice and clean, then put aaaaaallllll that junk back inside. No, that isn’t going to work. What you will have after all that hard work is a nice, clean, cluttered garage. Sort out the junk you can live without and set it aside, like Aunt Hilda’s collection of 144 types of left-handed thimbles. Next, set aside that box of 1954 Encyclopedias. Oh, but I might need them someday! Have you used them in the past 52 years? No? I rest my case.

Sometimes you gotta tell your flesh to shut up. Change doesn’t always come easy. I can testify of that firsthand. But the end result justifies the means. Sometimes you gotta be ruthless. Especially if Ruth likes to collect junk. Let’s move that thought to your daily schedule, because that’s what we’re trying to free up right now.
The first thing you have to learn to do is say “NO” to some people who want you to do things. Yes, that sounds cold. But chances are, the things people are asking you to do for them are things they don’t want in their schedule. So they want to use YOUR time. From now on, that is now a no-no. Your schedule from now on will be your responsibility. So if something goes in it that you don’t want there, guess whose fault it is?
Now, let’s rearrange your schedule to better suit your needs. Let’s start with a clear day’s schedule. Since God needs to talk to you and since you really need to talk to God, we’ll put that first on the list. It looks like this:
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JOHN SMITH
GOAL:
1. SPEND MORE TIME WITH GOD
a. 6:00a.m.-6:15a.m. pray, thanking God for another day. Read a Psalm, or a chapter of the Bible. Get quiet and listen for His reply.
It’s only 15 minutes. He really wants your attention. Surely you can squeeze God in for that long. Longer is fine, but let’s start somewhere. Once you can do 15 minutes, do 20. Keep increasing it. The world WILL wait for you. Really. Adjust your wake up time accordingly.
b. Shower & breakfast. You can take it from here..
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Maybe you’re like me, and stay up until 3 or 4 in the morning. I have to, because of all the prayer requests we get. So my prime time with God is maybe 4 a.m. till I get to go to bed. I pray, then listen for His reply. Then I’m meditating what I’ve studied and heard as I fall asleep. Then I wake up four hours or so later and hit the deck running with what I’ve learned fresh in my mind, and pray and study some more. My wife gets up about 5:30 a.m. and starts her day of prayer and study. She wakes up, and it’s Good Morning, Lord. I wake up, and it’s Good Lord, morning. Let’s face it, we each have our built in clock that dictates when we’re at our peak. For me, it’s at night, so that’s then I pray and study. I want to give God my best. For her it’s morning. But don’t let anyone put you in condemnation whether you spend time with God by day or by night. The most important thing is that you spend quality time with God each day.

The Lord spoke something to me recently, as I was playing my guitar. He said, When do you tune your guitar? I said, Before I play it. Doesn’t make a lot of sense to play an out of tune guitar for an hour, then tune it, and put it away. does it? Well, therefore, before you hit your day running, you need time with God to get it right. So, God needs to be first on your “to do” list. From there, He will make sure your day goes right.

Third, establish this habit for at least 30 days without fail. Don’t let anything get in the way of it. Once you’ve done it 30 days, it will be second nature to you. Weed out the “clutter”. As you do that, you will have more time to spend with God, so you won’t feel you are giving Him “scraps”. As you weed out the “clutter” you will find out the world will still keep on turning. No one will die because you gave up being chairman of the Retired Golfers Relief Fund Committee. The world won’t end because you turned down George’s offer to help him clean his garage. You’ve got your own garage to clean out.

You are responsible for what you squeeze into your day. Whatever you do today will use up a day of your life, you’ll never get it back again. What are you trading this day of your life for? Temporal things, or eternal? If you’re smart, you’ll have your eye on the eternal. Because 10,000 years from now, all that will really matter is how you spent your life today. Will you stand before Jesus and say, “Well, Lord, I really wanted to spend time with you, but I was too busy.”???
Will He have to tell you, “Depart from me, I never knew you.”?

You’d better think about that one, my friend. It will help you tremendously in scheduling your day!